It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that IEEE 802.15.4 is a simple packet data protocol for lightweight wireless networks, used in controllers, sensors, remote monitoring etc. where long battery life is important. This protocol is targeted at home and building automation and controls, PC peripherals, medical monitoring and toys. The primary motivations behind IEEE 802.15.4 are simplicity, long battery life, networking capabilities, reliability and cost. It will be appreciated that the Zigbee™ Alliance governs standards applicable to the above, further details of which are available at http://www.zigbee.org. One skilled in the art appreciates that the Zigbee Alliance has defined, or is in the process of defining, a standard that relates to the layers of a communication stack that are above the PHY and MAC layers of IEEE 802.15.4 standard.
Conventional transceivers compliant with this standard have operated exclusively in either a current mode or voltage mode. Operating the transceiver in a current mode is preferable in an environment where small signals prevail, that is, in an environment in which the signals have signals strengths for example from −95 dBm to −50 dBm. Operating the transceiver in a voltage mode is preferable in an environment where relatively larger signals prevail such as, for example, signals having a signal strength of −49 dBm to −10 dBm.
Therefore, it will be appreciated that a transceiver operable in current mode might be unsuitable for use in a wireless environment in which relatively large signals prevail. Similarly, a transceiver operable in voltage mode might be unsuitable for use in a wireless environment in which relatively small signals prevail.
It is an object of embodiments of the present invention to at least mitigate some of the problems of the prior art.